The Bb Pilipinas Charities Inc., in cooperation with Operation Smile, recently supported the 'Gift of Smiles' Mega Mission--a surgical mission benefiting children and young adults with cleft lip and palate.

The project held simultaneous outreach events recently in Bacolod, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Pampanga and Samar to treat 1000 children and young adults with the condition. 300 medical and non-medical volunteers from as far as Italy, China, India, Kenya as well as local surgeons came together to supported the cause to address the backlog of cleft cases in the Philippines, now estimated to number 138,000.

The Bb Pilipinas 2014 Queens showed off beauty from the inside out by spending quality time with the kid beneficiaries, easing kids out of post-surgical stress and sharing inspirational words to volunteers of the project. Supporting the Cavite and Pampanga legs of the project were Miss Universe Philippines 2014 MJ Lastimosa, Bb Pilipinas Supranational 2014 Yvethe Santiago and Bb Pilipinas Tourism 2014 Parul Shah.

Expressing firm support for the project, MJ shares, "one of the blessings that come with being a beauty queen is being able to touch and inspire other people's lives. I'm happy that we were invited to support Operation Smile to give hope to the kids."

Parul, who just completed her nursing course, assisted in the surgical procedures for some of the Operation Smile kids and added, "it was so touching to see volunteers from all over the world working together to help the kids for Operation Smile. It was an honor to work with them for such a noble project, and I look forward to using my medical experience to more projects in the future."

The Bb Pilipinas Charities Inc and Operation Smile have partnered for various projects in the past. One and all can are also invited to donate and volunteer to help children with cleft condition. For more information on how to help, please visit www.operationsmile.org.ph.